The Cult of Nerthus

Page 2

5. OLAF TRYGGVASON'S SAGA ON FREYR(Flateyjarbook II., 337): Norwegian Gunnar Helming was suspected
of having committed a murder. For fear of King Olaf he fled to Sweden. There
happened to be great sacrifices in the honour of Freyr, and his idol had such
a power that the devil spoke through it, and it had been given a young wife.
People believed that they could have sexual intercourse. Freyr's wife was pretty,
and she had the dominion over the temple. Gunnar asked her for shelter. She
answered: "You are not fortunate, for Freyr does not like you. Nevertheless,
stay here for three nights, and we may see." He said: "I like better
to be helped by you than by Freyr." Gunnar was a very jolly and cheerful
person. After three nights he asked whether he might stay there any longer.
"I do not know exactly," said she. "You are a poor fellow, and
still, as it seems, of good extraction, I should like to help you, only I am
afraid that Freyr hates you. Still, remain here half a month, and we may again
see." . Gunnar pleased the Swedes well because of his cheerfulness and
smartness. After some time, he talked again with Freyr's wife. She said: "
People like you well, and I think it is better you stay her this winter and
accompany us when Freyr makes his annual journey. But I must tell you that he
is still angry with you." Gunnar thanked her well. . . Now the festival
time came, and the procession started. Freyr and his wife were placed in the
carriage, whereas their servants and Gunnar had to walk beside. When driving
through the mountains, they were surprised by a tempest and all the servants
fled. Gunnar remained. At last he got tired of walking, went into the carriage
and let the draught_cattle go as they liked. Freyr's wife said: "You had
better try and walk again, for otherwise Freyr will arise against you."
Gunnar did so, but when he got too tired, he said: "Anyhow, let him come,
I will stand against him." Now Freyr arises, and they wrestle till Gunnar
notices that he is getting weaker. Then he thinks by himself that if he overcomes
this load Foe he will return to the right faith and be reconciled with King
Olaf. And immediately after Freyr begins to give way, and afterwards to sink.
Now this Foe leaps out of the idol, and it lay there empty. Gunnar broke it
into pieces and gave Freyr's wife two alternatives: that he would leave, or
that she might declare him publicly to be the god Freyr. She said that she would
willingly declare what he liked. Now Gunnar dressed in Freyr's clothes, the
weather improved and they went to the festival. People were very much impressed
by the power of Freyr, because he was able to visit the country in such a tempest,
allthough all the servants had fled. They wondered how he went about among them
and talked like other men. Thus Freyr and his wife spent the winter going to
festivals. Freyr was not more eloquent towards people than his wife, and he
would not receive living victims, as before, and no offerings except gold, silk,
and good clothings. Alter months, people began to notice that Freyr's wife was
gravid. They thought it splendid, and many expected great wonders of their god
Freyr. Also the weather was fine, and it looked like such a harvest as nobody
remembered to have seen before. The rumours of Freyr's power were reported to
Norway, and also brought before King Olaf. He had some suspicion of the truth
and asked Gunnar's brother Sigurd what he knew about the exiled. Sigurd knew
of nothing. The King said : "I believe this mighty god of the Swedes, who
is so famous in all countries, is no other person than your brother Gunnar.
For otherwise, those are the greatest where living men, are slaughtered. . .
. . Now I send you to Sweden, for it is terrible to know that a Christian man's
soul should be situated thus. I shall give up my wrath, if he comes voluntarily,
for now I know that he has not committed the murder.” . . . . Sigurd immediately
went to Sweden and brought his brother these news. Gurinar answered : “Certainly
might I willingly go back; but if the Swedes discover the truth, they will kill
me.” Sigurd said: "We shall secretly carry you away, and be sure that King
Olaf's good fortune God's mercy is more powerful than the Swedes." Now
Gunnar and his wife prepare their flight, taking with them as many goods as
they were able to carry. The Swedes went in pursuit of them, but lost the trace
and did not find them. So Gunnar and his people arrived in Norway and went to
King Olaf, who received them well and made him his wife to be baptized.

7.ADAM OF BREMEN ON FRICCO. — According to
Adam , the three main gods of the Swedes had a temple in Upsala. The most venerated
was Fricco, who was represented “cum ingenti priapo.” The name of Fricco may
contain the same Aryan root as Priapos, but it may at the same time have been
regarded as a pet form of "frið-goði," "the peace-good."

8. SAXO ON KING FRØ. — According to Saxo,
Once the Swedes were ruled by King Frø, who was a cruel tyrant. After conquering
a Norwegian, King Siward, he used to carry off the wives and daughters of the
most notable men in Norway, compelling them to a sort of infamy. Because of
his cruelty and lecherv he was at last slain by Ragnar Loðbrók.

9. SAXO ON KING FRØ’S SONS . — The champion
Starkad, dwelt for seven years with King Frø’s sons in Sweden. At last he could
no longer stand the lascivious dancing and jingling which took place in Upsala
during the times of sacrifice. So he departed for Denmark. [Not King Frø, but
the god seems to be meant directly.] The report goes on with a description of
quite similar rites at the court of the Irish King, Hugleth, who is killed by
Starkad and Haki. Snorri has exactly the same report on the destruction of the
lascivious king and his court. But here the scene is at Upsala. Among King Hugleik's
people, Snorri also mentions sorcerers (“seiðmenn”). It is obviously Snorri
who preserves the correct localisation; the whole tradition must be referred
to the Swedish cult of Freyr.

10. SAXO ON KING FRODE FREDEGOD. — What
Saxo relates in his 5th book on King Frode Fredegod is mixed up wjth Icelandic
fancy sagas of more or less individual fabrication. The whole story of Frode's
battles and conquests must be eliminated. What remains is a ritual tradition
which may be summed up in the following way. Frode established the firm and
sacred peace (fróða friðr). In order to manifest its firmness, he placed unlocked
treasures near the high roads on two spots in Norway and also in Jutland. Nobody
ventured to steal them. At last a witch persuaded her son to steal them for
her, and when the king set out to punish the thief, she transformed herself
into a sea-cow and gored him with her horn. Frode died of the wound. But his
chieftains embalmed his corpse, put it on a chariot, and dragged it round the
country; so credulous people believed that he was still living, and paid their
taxes as before. The corpse at last rotted so much that they could not bear
the stench; so they buried it near Værebro, on the island Sealand. N. B. — This
locality is close to Ud-Lejre, minding one of the name of the famous Sealandic
place of worship.

We do not take into account the myths about
Gefn, Baldr, and King Skjold, which have been regarded by several scholars as
closely connected with the Nerthus-cult. As the connection is not strictly obvious,
we think it better to leave this material aside.

Corresponding group in Widsith: Rondings,
Brondings, Wærnes, Eoves, Ytes. The Angles are left out, as they must be named
at the end of the whole list, acording to the law of '' back stress.''

The hapax legomenon Reudigni of Tacitus
no doubbt must be read Rendingi or Randingi = the Rendings of Widsith. (2) They may have lived near the river Gudenaa in North Jutland; this river must
formerly have been called Rand, since the town at its mouth has the name of
Randers, Randar-ós, "mouth of Rand. “Besides, there is a firth near Fredericia
called Randsfjord.

Avions, Eowan, are either "Island-dwellers
" or “River-dwellers." The first interpretation has been referred
to the islands along the coast of South Jutland. Detlefsen, in Sieglin's "Quellen
u. Forschungen zur alten . . . Geographie," Heft 8, Nachtrag, p. 10, suggests
that the Avions might be the inhabitants of Abo Syssel in North Jutland, i.e., the environs of Randers and Aarhus. Abo means exactly " River
- dweller." If the Rondings lived near Randers, the said localisation of
the Avions would fit in very well. Yet we must provisionally leave the suggestion
as a vague possibility.

Anglii, Angles, are inhabitants of the
South Jutlandic district of Angel, perhaps also of the neighbouring east coast
of Holstein.

ENDNOTES:

2. Chadwick, The Origin of the English
Nation, p. 599, combines the Varini with the South Jutlandic peninsular district
of Varnæs, in the neighbourhood of Angel = "promontorium Varinorum in a document
the thirteenth century." It is not quite excluded that this suggestion of
Müllenhoff could be correct. But the assertion that the cited words actually found
in a document," Liber census Daniæ," is false ; it due to a careless
quotation from Müllenhoff in the extremely unreliable treatise of Seelman, in
"Jahrbuch des Vereins für niederdeutsche Sprachforschung” 1886, p.31. Back